A Frozen Star
by HikariKarin
Summary: Karin and Toshiro were just as close as two friends could be. Best friends. But when events cause their world to be torn from them, how are they supposed to recover what they had, when one can no longer remember the other? Follow these two as you read through a story of friendship, love, and loss. HitsuKarin. (Kind of a generic summary. Sorry about that. Rewrite of my old fic.)
1. Chapter One- Commonality

**A/N Hello everyone! This story is basically a rewrite of my first story that I posted on here. There were so many things I didn't like about the original, and no matter how many times I tried to fix it, I just ended up making it worse, so I decided to just scrap it and start new. So if you read the first 5 chapters of the crappy original, I hope you like this new version as much as I do, and if you haven't read it, then welcome and I hope you enjoy! (: **

* * *

_["Hyorinmaru's voice"]_

_[Toshiro's thoughts]_

**Chapter One- Commonality**

Sitting at her desk and staring out the window at school seemed to be an everyday occurrence for Karin. The teacher was droning on about something in the background, but Karin was barely hearing her as she watched the colorful autumn leaves dance along the grass in the breeze. She sighed as the teacher called her name and she reluctantly tore her gaze from the calming scene outside. After standing and reading a passage from the class book aloud, she sat back down and continued to watch out the window, ignoring the classroom around her once again.

When Karin first started at Karakura High, she had already been pinned with her brother's reputation. The teachers were hard on her, and the students were wary of her, fearing that she had Ichigo's temper. Not that it ever bothered her. She preferred to be left alone anyway.

But now, Karin was at the top of her senior class and captain of the soccer team. She had proved that academically, she was nothing like her brother, but she still wasn't the social butterfly her sister Yuzu was. Karin only had a few friends with whom she spoke at school, all of them being on her soccer team and being the same guys she'd hung out with since elementary school. Outside of school, Karin only had one person who she considered to be her best friend, but she was lucky if she got to see that white haired soul reaper more than a few times a year.

Karin was pulled from her thoughts with a tap on her shoulder. She turned to see Yuzu leaning toward her desk smiling brightly at her. "Rima and Yuuri wanted to go to the mall after school. Do you want to come with us?"

Karin loved her sister. She was closer to her than anyone. With Karin's personality, it was nice to have someone who was her complete opposite, like Yuzu, to balance her. No matter what the situation was, if Karin was having a bad day or feeling depressed, Yuzu always found a way to make her laugh and smile. It had been that way for as long as she could remember. Yuzu was always her rock. She supported her through anything, and always had a smile and a hug to offer.

She gave a small smile back and shook her head, "No, I can't. I have soccer practice."

Karin hated letting Yuzu down, but even if she hadn't had soccer practice, she more than likely would have said no anyway. Karin didn't have any friends that were girls. Other than the fact most of the girls at school were intimidated by her, despite Yuzu's efforts to make her look like a giant teddy bear, Karin didn't act like most girls her age, so she didn't get along with them. She would rather kick a soccer ball around the field or pick up a book and sit and read than go to the mall.

Yuzu clasped her hand together with a pleading look, "You always have soccer practice. Can't you skip it just this once?"

Karin shook her head again. "I'm the captain. I have be there to keep those boys in line. We have Nationals coming up soon. I'm sorry."

Yuzu's face fell slightly, "It's okay. You'll just have to come with us next time!"

She gave Yuzu a reassuring smile, "Yeah. I'd like that."

With that, her sister's face lit back up, but before she could say anything, the school bell rang. Karin gathered her books and slipped them down inside her bag. She made her way from her desk over to the classroom door and turned to wave to her sister. She slowly brought her hand back down when she saw her standing in a close circle, giggle with a group of girls. A wistful smile played on her lips as she stood and watched them for a moment. She shook her head, her smile faltering, and turned away, headed to the locker room to change for practice, glad to be free from that confining room.

* * *

Karin walked down the side walk after practice with her schoolbag over her shoulder and her headphones in her ears, drowning out the world around her. She slid her hand down in her pocket as she felt her cellphone vibrate and opened it to see a message from Yuzu. She stopped walking and sighed as she read the text telling her that Yuzu was staying at Rima's for the weekend. Karin turned around and slipped her phone back in her pocket as she headed back to the park.

With Isshin being away for the weekend at a medical conference, and Ichigo no longer in the world of the living, Karin had seen no reason for her to go home just yet, so she headed to the one place she preferred to be when the sun set anyway.

Not long after Ichigo had gotten his powers back and had graduated, he had accepted an offer given to him by the Gotei 13. He was now the captain of Squad 3 and living with Kisuke in the Soul Society who had also accepted the Squad 5 captaincy.

Ever since the Winter war ended eight years ago, hollow activity in Karakura Town wasn't nearly as high as it usually was. Of course Karin still had to pick up the slack of the current soul reaper stationed in town, but less hollow activity meant no need for the Soul Society to send anyone else, much less Ichigo, to the area. Which meant the Kurosakis only got to see Ichigo once or twice a year if they were lucky.

Karin missed her brother. More than she cared to admit to anyone. Sure, he would sometimes disappear for days on end, leaving her and Yuzu worried sick, and he would come home bandaged and bruised, but her siblings meant the world to her.

As Karin reached the hill over looking the park, she pulled out her headphones and stuffed them down into her pocket with her mp3 player. Even with knowing the chance of Toshiro showing up here was slim to none, she still enjoyed to come here occasionally to watch the sunset. Karin set her school bag down next to her as she sat down and leaned back against the guard rail and looked out at the horizon.

She sat in a comfortable silence with her knees pulled up to her chest and her arms wrapped around them, as the sun inched down in the sky. There was a small autumn breeze sweeping trough the park and she pulled her legs closer to her, feeling dumb for leaving her jacket at school.

However, thoughts of the cool air quickly slipped from her mind, as a small black butterfly fluttered into her line of sight and drew closer to her. Karin's eyes widened for a moment as she recognized exactly what she was seeing and she held out her hand to let the small creature land on the tip of her finger. A genuine smile graced her features as she closed her eyes to listen to the message it had brought.

"_I'm being sent on a mission to the world of the living. _

_I will require a place to stay, if the offer still stands, I should _

_arrive tonight"_

Karin was pleasantly surprised to hear Toshiro's voice come from the butterfly instead of Ichigo's. Ever since he had left for the Soul Society, once a week Ichigo would send his sisters a message, letting them know what he'd been up to, and how he was doing. She had not heard from her brother yet this week, so to receive something from Toshiro was definitely unexpected.

After opening her eyes and laughing at his formal message, she spoke back to the small butterfly. "Of course, Captain Hitsugaya. I look forward to seeing you soon." As the creature flew away, Karin had to admit that the thought of seeing the soul reaper after such a long time actually made her happy. With the exception of her sister, Toshiro was the closest person to Karin. She consistently looked forward to the times that he would come to the human world, just so that she would be able to spend any sort of time with him.

Karin turned her head to the side as she was pulled from her thoughts by the sound of crunching leaves on the ground. As a small boy walked up the hill and came to sit beside her. The short chain hanging from his chest made a soft clinking sound as he moved.

"Hey Sora."

"Hey Karin."

This particular little soul had yet to pass on. Much to Karin's surprise, in the little over a month that she had known him, he had avoided being eaten by a hollow or found by the soul reaper stationed in town. The two of them never really talked much, Karin often just sat with him, each to their own thoughts, keeping each other company.

After their short greeting, they did just that. Neither of them said anything as they both sat and watched the sun slip below the horizon. When the street lights lit up to illuminate the park, Karin kept her eyes forward as she spoke. "Your chain is even shorter now."

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him nod, "I know. It gets shorter everyday."

"You know what will happen soon, don't you?"

He sighed, "Yeah. I know."

Karin now turned to look at the boy, "Sora. You need to find Zennosuke. If you don't, you're going to become a hollow soon and I don't want to see that happen to you. Because you know what I will have to do."

Sora turned to look at her with a smile. "I know, Karin. Don't worry."

She sighed and stood up, slinging her bag over her shoulder, and looked down at him. "Well until next time then, alright?"

He nodded, his eyes back to the moon that was now visible in the sky. "Bye Karin."

She started her walk home, trying not to dwell on her worried thoughts for the young boy. She instead focused on the happier fact that Toshiro was coming to the world of the living, which meant coming to see her, and continued down the sidewalk with a bright smile on her face.

* * *

Toshiro set down his paintbrush and rubbed his temples, willing the small start of a headache away. He sighed heavily, tired of trying to ignore the loud conversation that had been taking place in his office for the past half hour, and shifted his gaze to the small group of people lounging on the two couches in the room. He slammed his hands down on the top of his desk and the other three turned their heads to see a seething captain staring at them.

Rangiku was the first to speak. "C-Captain?"

Toshiro stood, walking around his desk to stand in front of it, taking his usual stance of tucking his hands into his sleeves before he spoke. His eyes locked with Renji's. "Lieutenant Abari. I'm sure Captain Kuchiki will be very happy to hear that instead of doing your paperwork, you're in _my_ office, disrupting _my_ work and distracting _my_ lieutenant from doing her duties. I suggest you leave and return to your barracks."

He then turned to Kira. "Lieutenant Izuru. Just because Captain Kurosaki slacks off all of the time, doesn't mean you should do the same. You should be a better example to your squad. You need to return to your barracks as well and make sure you captain is working instead of taking his usual mid-day nap."

Toshiro then turned to glare at Rangiku. Keeping his eyes on her, he extended his arm and pointed to the door. "Both of you get back to work." When neither of them moved, he turned to them, "Now!" Renji and Kira both dropped their heads and mumbled an apology before practically running out of the office.

Rangiku's eyes widened as she stared at her captain. Toshiro then pointed to his desk, gesturing the many piles of papers covering the top. "All of it, plus what you haven't finished yet this week. I want it all done before I return."

"But Captain, there's no way I-.." Rangiku stopped abruptly when she felt the temperature of the room drop. She hung her head, "Yes Captain."

Toshiro grabbed Hyorinmaru off of the sword rack behind his desk and strapped it onto his back before walking out of the office, slamming the door shut behind him. He started down the stone path headed to his personal quarters, when Hyorinmaru decided to chime in. _"Why must you frighten them like that?"_

_Why must they constantly be in my office, disrupting my work!?_

"_You know they mean well. Not everyone is as cold and stoic as you."_

_Says the _ice _dragon..._

As Toshiro headed to his personal quarters, trying to ignore the rambling voice of his zanpakuto, he spotted a small black object out of the corner of his eye. He stopped walking and allowed the small hell butterfly to land on his finger. After listening to it's message he immediately turned around and flash stepped to Squad 1. When he arrived, he walked into the meeting room and took his place in line inside the great hall and waited for the other captains.

Captain Yamamoto hit his staff on the ground getting the attention of everyone in the room. "The captain's meeting will now start." He paused for a moment, "Captain Kurotsuchi."

Mayuri took a step forward. "Yes. Squad 12 has gotten reports of strange activity in the precipice world as well as the unauthorized opening of multiple senkaimon in the world of the living."

Captain Unohana spoke softly, " Could you please elaborate?"

Kurotsuchi sighed, "It is exactly as I said, woman. Unidentifiable spiritual pressure has been detected in the precipice world and multiple unauthorized senkaimon have been recorded opening in Karakura Town."

As soon as Karakura Town had been mentioned, Ichigo stepped forward, "Karakura Town? Why didn't you say that in the first place? What's going on? Has anyone been hurt?" His voice gradually rose as he continued to throw questions at Captain Kurotsuchi, who in turn, answered by yelling back at him.

Toshiro closed his eyes and sighed once again, _Leave it to Kurosaki to blow something like this out of propor- wait. Karakura Town? _He immediately turned his attention to the twelfth division captain.

"Silence!" Yamamoto slammed his cane down on the on the wood floor and the room became silent. He waited a moment before continuing, "There were two distinct unknown captain level spiritual pressures detected. Therefore, I am sending three captains to the world of the living to investigate this issue. Because they are familiar with the area, Captains Kurosaki, Urahara and Hitsugaya will be dispatched immediately."

Toshiro, as well as Ichigo and Kisuke, all stepped forward and nodded to the head captain. "Prepare to leave immediately. I expect you all to arrive in the world of the living by sundown. Meeting dismissed."

* * *

Toshiro came to a stop in front of his office door and took a deep breath to prepare himself. He slid open the door and stepped inside, breathing a sigh of relief at the emptiness of the room. Telling Rangiku that he was leaving for the world of the living without her, was not something he wanted to deal with at the moment.

He let out a frustrated sigh and tried to ignore the stacks of unfinished paperwork still lying everywhere as he quickly walked to his desk and slid open the top drawer to retrieve his soul pager. He let a slight smile play at his lips when he saw the small soccer ball charm hanging from it and his thoughts momentarily drifted to Karin.

It was just a simple gift given to him from a close friend, he knew that, but Toshiro was still confused as to why Karin had worn a faint blush on her cheeks when she had given him the small box. And as much as he didn't want to admit it, when he saw the small charm it had made his heart beat quicken and a smile to come to his face.

Sighing, and still wearing a slight smile, Toshiro slipped his soul pager into his robes and summoned a hell butterfly. He whispered a few short words to it, and it flew off his finger and out the window. His eyes watched as it disappeared from sight before he turned back to his desk to leave a letter for his lieutenant.

* * *

Toshiro met up with Ichigo and Kisuke just outside the third division barracks, and walked with the two of them toward the senkaimon. Kisuke looked over at Toshiro, "I'm sure Tessai, Jinta, and Ururu won't have a problem with it if you need to stay in one of the spare rooms at my shop while we're in the world of the living Captain Hitsugaya."

Toshiro glanced over at him, "Thank you for the offer, but I have already made arrangements for a place to stay."

Ichigo looked over at him, "Don't think I'm going to let you crash at my place, Toshiro."

Toshiro gave him and annoyed look and sighed, "It's Captain Hitsugaya, Kurosaki. And don't worry, you are the last person I would ask."

Now Ichigo was annoyed as he shot Toshiro a glare, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Now, now. Let's not fight, gentlemen." Kisuke said with a smile.

Ichigo huffed as he looked forward and crossed his arms. Toshiro simply shook his head as they approached the senkaimon. They stood in front of it for a few moments before the doors slowly opened and three black butterflies fluttered out to them.

Kisuke said with another smile, "Well, let's get going."

"Right." Both Ichigo and Toshiro replied with a nod, as the three took off running into the precipice world.

* * *

**A/N I hope you enjoyed the rewritten first chapter of A Frozen Star. (: I know I'm a lot happier with how this story is going now that I basically started over. I've been working alot on my writing, and I feel that I've gotten alot better, so I would love any critiques you could give me. I hope you guys like it so far, so please leave me a review and let me know if this is good enough to continue!(: I'll hopefully see ya in the next chapter! (:**

**HikariKarin **


	2. Chapter Two- Awkward Conversations

**A/N I know. I'm sorry. It's been two years and I haven't touched this story. But! I've written more! Please forgive me for just abandoning this, it wasn't my intention, but life kind of happened, and then my laptop crashed and I just couldn't find the time to write. I'm a mom now so that takes up almost all of my free time. But I'm back on here now, and I would like to at least get this story done, because I started writing a Naruto fic, but I feel like I should update this story before I start on any new ones. So, after two years...here's the next chapter!**

* * *

_["Taiyoko speaking"]_

_[Karin's thoughts]_

**Chapter Two- Awkward Conversations**

Toshiro closed his eyes momentarily to avoid the bright light that consumed the three of them as he arrived in the shop's basement. Gathered around the temporary gate waiting for them was Tessai, Jinta and Urruru.

It had been months since Toshiro had been in this room. In this world. He would never admit it to anyone, but he actually liked being in the world of the living. To be able sit back and watch the humans. Their life was so short in comparison to a soul reaper's. Watching them always brought back the very few memories that he had of his human life. Toshiro shook his head as a deep voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Good to have you back boss." Tessai said as Urruru ran to Kisuke and jumped into his arms.

He chuckled as he set the young girl back down. "It's good to be back, Tessai.

"Oi! Why'd you have to bring him with you?" Jinta yelled as he pointed to Ichigo.

"Shut up you little pipsqueak!" Ichigo yelled back as he glared at the tiny red head. He then leaned over and ruffled Urruru's hair and gave her a soft smile before turning to Kisuke. "Is it alright if I crash here tonight?"

"You're not going to go and see your family?" Toshiro asked curiously.

Ichigo shook his head. "No. It's pretty late. I figured I would head over there tomorrow. Surprise 'em then."

"I don't have a problem with it. There's more than enough room here at the shop." Kisuke replied, smiling widely.

"Don't let him stay here old man!" Jinta yelled to Kisuke.

"Listen here you little brat!" Ichigo ran across the basement as he chased Jinta up the ladder to the shop.

Soon after their arrival, they all gathered around a small table in the back of the shop. Tessai had prepared tea and a few snacks for the lot of them. After a short while of visiting, talk of sleeping arrangements, and going over their mission, Toshiro was more than ready to take his leave. He took the last drink if his tea and set his cup back down on the table. He stood and nodded to the lot of them. "Thank you Captain Urahara. I'll be leaving now."

Kisuke looked up at him from under the rim of his hat, "Are you sure Captain Hitsugaya? As I said, you are more then welcome to stay here."

Toshiro shook his head, "Thank you, but no. I've made previous arrangements"

Ichigo then decided to chime in, "You said that earlier Toshiro, and it had me wondering. Who exactly do you know in the world of the living that would let you stay with them? Inoue isn't home. She's been off at college, so you can't be going there."

Keeping his voice flat, Toshiro replied, "I don't see how it is any of your business where I'm going Kurosaki. And it's Captain Hitsugaya. I'll return tomorrow morning and we can go over our mission." Without bothering to hear Ichigo's reply, Toshiro walked through the shop and out the front door, heading toward the Kurosaki Clinic. A small smile played at his lips as he made his way across town, his thoughts on Karin.

* * *

Karin sat at her desk as she ran a hand through her hair and breathed a heavy sigh. Placing her pencil down and closing her text book she shook her head and stood up. Focusing on her homework was not working for her right now.

Karin walked across her room and threw herself on top of her bed and closed her eyes. She could remember the day that she had acquired the same powers as her brother. She had felt a hollow's spiritual pressure near the park where her soccer team was practicing. She ran toward the hollow hearing protests from her team behind her. When she arrived she found a young man dressed in black laying on the ground, heavily wounded. The young soul reaper had told her that his wounds were much too sever and there was no way of getting him help before the hollow devoured them both, pleading with her to run. Of course Karin had argued with him and took a defensive stance over the young man, promising to protect him, but in the end she was no match for the hollow.

She had not suffered any fatal wounds, but Karin had been hurt and could hardly hold her own anymore. The soul reaper begged Karin to just leave him, but she refused and continued to fight. The hollow had her beat, and she knew it. She wasn't a soul reaper, and she had only just begun training with Kisuke to learn how to use her own reaitsu. The young man, knowing the gravity of the decision he was about to make but knowing it was his job to protect the humans of this town, had told Karin that he could give her something that would insure their safety. Karin had reluctantly agreed, unknowing what he meant. After his zanpakuto had been plunged into her, she had fought her hardest to keep both of them safe, but not knowing how to fully control her new strength yet overwhelmed her body and she passed out in the middle of the street with a blast of reaitsu that knocked the wounded man unconscious. The last sight she remembered seeing was the soul reaper being devoured by the hollow.

When she woke up, she found herself laying in her room. Ichigo and Toshiro were there and had explained how she had been saved by her brother and exactly what the soul reaper had done when he stabbed her with his zanpakuto. She learned that Ichigo had initially gained his soul reaper powers in the same fashion from Rukia. After the whole ordeal was explained to her, Toshiro told her that the soul reaper who had transferred his powers to her had been eaten by the hollow.

Karin had been pretty messed up for a while after everything that had happened. She felt guilty that the young man had died because he gave her his only means of strength and ended up dying because of it, but she also felt indebted to the man for giving her such a wonderful gift.

As Karin laid on her bed, she relaxed her body concentrated looking into the deepest part of her mind before she and began to feel that familiar tug on the edges of her consciousness. When she opened her eyes she once again found her self under that same peaceful tree. "Taiyoko?"

After a short moment a voice responded. "Karin."

Her gaze drifted to a tree branch above her where boy with bright red hair sat, swinging his legs.

"Finally give up on your homework, huh?"

"Yeah. It was a lost cause."

"Too busy thinkin' about little Shiro-chan." He smiled down at her.

Blushing deeply, Karin reached up and grabbed his ankle and pulled on his leg, causing him to fall from the tree. "Shut up Tai. I was not!"

Quickly standing up and rubbing his backside he looked down at her with a slight scowl. "You forget that we share thoughts and feelings, Karin. You can deny it all you want, but it's useless." He chuckled at her.

Still blushing slightly, she looked away from him and turned her attention to the ground where she was currently ripping out several helpless blades of grass.

"You ever gonna tell him?"

Still destroying the small blades, she shook her head, "I have no idea what you're talking about."

He scoffed and laid down beside her. "Alright. I see your still playing that card. What ever suits you."

A small breeze blew across the field and carried the remainder of the grass out of her palm, "He's the only person, besides Yuzu, that I've ever been close to, and I don't want to push him away by saying something. I don't think I could handle someone else in my life leaving." Her thoughts drifted to Ichigo as she forced back down the lump that had formed in her throat. She hadn't shown any sadness or tears about Ichigo leaving, and she wasn't about to now.

Taiyoko was silent, able to feel Karin's sadness. Knowing that Karin wasn't looking for reassurance or support, he just sat and listened to her. That being what she did need.

"He's a soul reaper. I realize that I am now too, but I have a human life, he doesn't. Even on the off chance that anything were to happen between us, he is gone for months at a time, and I'm not sure I would be able to handle being away from him for that long only to see him for a few days. A relationship like that wouldn't work."

Karin finally, after a few silent moments, looked over and met Taiyoko's gaze. A sly smile formed on her lips as she spoke. "Feel like sparring?"

Taiyoko returned her smile, "Same mind, same thoughts."

Karin stood with an outstretched hand and helped him to his feet. They locked eyes for only a brief moment before they both jumped backwards to take up fighting stances.

Karin held her arm out beside her, "Blaze through the darkened sky, Taiyoko!"

A beautiful black, double bladed zanpakuto manifested in her hand. The yellow and orange ribbons hanging from the end of the handle, danced alongside the small soccer ball charm in the still blowing breeze.

Taiyoko smiled as an identical sword appeared in his hand. "I am a mighty fine looking blade, aren't I?"

Karin laughed, "Conceited much?"

"Hey. I'm just stating fact.", he said still with a smile. "Sadly though, I'm afraid were going to have to postpone this little spar."

Karin wore a confused look, "What? Why?"

Her zanpakuto looked at her with a smirk, "Because I can feel Hyorinmaru's presence nearby, and I'm sure the sword didn't show up by himself."

Her eyes widened and her voice came out in a whisper, "Toshiro..."

"Time to go back. See ya later, Karin."

Taiyoko still wore a smirk on his face as her spirit world faded to black around her. When she came out of her meditation she slowly opened her eyes to see Toshiro sitting at the foot of her bed watching her.

She sat up with a nervous smile, "Hey."

His normal scowl faded away at the sound of Karin's voice. "Hi."

"Sorry. Have you been here long?"

Toshiro shook his head slightly. "Only a few minutes. I didn't intend to interrupt you."

It was then that Karin noticed the changes in Toshiro's appearance. His hair had grown much longer and he now wore a green scarf around his neck. And even though he was sitting down, she could tell that he had grown taller as well. Only then did she realize how long it had been since she had last seen her best friend.

Toshiro took note of her staring and leaned down a bit until their eyes met. "Karin?"

She wasn't sure how it was even possible, but he had become even more handsome in the time that he had been away. Her gaze trailed from his hair all the way down to his broader chest, committing every inch of him to memory.

"Karin?"

_I should tell him. While he's here and I have the chance. I should finally let him know how I fee-_

"Karin!" His voice being more stern this time, pulled her from her thoughts.

She met his eyes with an embarrassed blush, having been caught staring at him.

"Is everything alright?"

She nodded her head tried to force the blush from her face. "Yeah, Everything is fine."

After that, Karin wasn't sure what to say, so they sat in almost an awkward silence that seemed to drag on. She had never had any problems in the past talking to Toshiro. She was always open and honest with him about everything, but in the past few months she had come to realize, with the help of a few mental slaps upside the head from Taiyoko, that she had developed feelings for her best friend. And now she was trying to focus on not making that fact obvious, and she wasn't sure what to do or say.

Luckily Toshiro was the first to strike up a conversation. "Your brother is here with me. As well as Captain Urahara."

"Ichigo? He's here? Why didn't he come home? Karin asked, trying to hide the excitement in her voice.

"He said it was late, so instead of coming back tonight, he was planning on surprising you and your family in the morning."

"Well so much for that plan, he'll only be surprising me. And three captains? Why would the Soul Society send so many of you?"

"Squad 12 has detected a number of strange reaitsus so they dispatched us to investigate the issue."

Karin thought for a moment before replying with a nervous look, "Squad 12. Their captain is that weird blue haired guy right?" The only time she had met the man was the one time that she went to visit Ichigo in the Soul Society, and that one time was enough for her.

"Yes. Captain Kurotsuchi." Toshiro laughed softly. "Not fond of him, I take it?"

"No! That man followed me around for two days asking if I would come to his lab so he could run all sorts of tests on me!" Karin exclaimed. "And when it wasn't him following me around, it was that Captain Zaraki wanting to find out if _'Ichigo's little sister was as much fun to fight as he had been'."_

Toshiro laughed out loud at her words, and she smiled._ Why had I thought things were going to be awkward? He's still the same old Shiro that he always is around me. The smiling, carefree Toshiro that only I get to see._

"_You're the only one who thought anything was strange. Stop thinking so much."_

_Oh be quiet, Tai._

Karin and Toshiro's conversation carried on into the night, remaining lighthearted and carefree until they both fell asleep.

* * *

_Buzzzz Beep Beep Buzzzz_

Karin sighed and opened her eyes to grab Toshiro's soul pager from her night stand. The annoying thing had been going off for the last five minutes interrupting her sleep. She blinked her eyes a few times and squinted to focus of the bright screen of his phone.

Her eyes immediately widened when she realized what was on the screen. According to his soul pager, something was coming. Fast, with a high reaistu.

She turned her head and glanced at Toshiro's sleeping form. With a smile she carefully got out of bed and grabbed her soul candy dispenser out of her backpack. She popped one of the small pills into her mouth and swallowed it. She now stood in her room wearing her black shihaksho and Taiyoko strapped to her back.

Her voice came out in a whisper when she spoke to the mod soul in her body. "Just go ahead and go back to sleep. I'll be back in a few minutes."

"Aye aye, sir!" The mod soul saluted her wearing a ridiculously large smile.

Not long after that, Karin shunpoed atop the buildings of KaraKura Town, letting the small cellphone in her hand lead her.

_"Toshiro is going to kill you. You know that, right?"_

_Oh shut up, Tai. He's not even going to know._ she snipped back.

_"If you say so."_

Karin continued across the town feeling the cool night air against her face. She always felt the most relaxed like this. Running in her soul reaper form, feeling the weight of her zanpakuto on her back. She wished so much that she could share this world with Yuzu, but not having any spiritual pressure of her own made it impossible for Karin to do that.

She also hadn't said anything to her father about her powers, but knowing that he had powers of his own and used to be a captain, she was sure he knew. Her spiritual pressure grew stronger everyday, and she had to admit that even old goat face would be able to sense that much

Karin came to a sudden stop when the soul pager stopped beeping. She placed the small device inside her robes and looked around subtly.

_"Keep your guard up. We don't even know what this thing is yet."_

_I know that Tai. This isn't my first day at this._

She could feel Taiyoko rolling his eyes at her, but he didn't say anything else.

A familiar reaitsu pressed down on Karin, and she could feel the anger in it. She cringed as she turned around and saw Toshiro standing in the air a few yards from her.

_How did he find out so quickly?_ She spoke with a guilty smile on her face, "Hey there, Toshiro."

_"Told ya."_

"What are you doing out here this late at night?" She decided to go for casual, to see if she could talk her way out of this.

"I'm here to ask you the same thing." He still wore a heavy scowl on his face.

_Crap. Ok, so casual isn't going to work._

_"I could have told ya that."_

She ignored the sword as she scratched the back of her neck, a nervous gesture she picked up from her brother. "Well, I didn't want to wake you, and your soul pager kept going off, so I decided to come out here and take care of it myself, and I thought I'd be back before you woke up."

"Well maybe that was the problem, Karin." He now glared at her, his voice being laced with what Karin could swear was distaste.

Karin was starting to get offended now that he had insulted her intelligence. "Toshiro. Calm down. There's no reason to act like that." His reaitsu pressed down on her harder. Taking her breath away for a moment.

"No reason?!" His voice becoming louder, "You ran off in the middle of the night with _my_ soul pager and decided to come out here and possibly get yourself killed!"

Karin was silent for a moment, shocked by Toshiro's outburst. _This isn't right. It's not like him to lose it like this._

"Toshiro. I don't underst-"

"I swear you're just as stupid as your brother."

She froze. _Wh- What did he just say?_

Toshiro just stood there. staring at her.

No. Something was seriously wrong. Even though Karin knew that Toshiro and Ichigo had never really been what you could call friends, Toshiro knew how she felt about her brother. She knew that Toshiro would never say anything ill towards him, and especially to her. No, this definitely wasn't right. She met his gaze with a glare of her own. Her voice calm and even. "Who are you?"

"Are you blind now, as well as stupid?"

She only repeated herself, her anger slowly rising. "Who are you?"

Toshiro rolled his eyes. "Honestly, Karin."

She gripped the handle of Taiyoko and took a step back, "No. If you were really Toshiro, there is no way you would have insulted Ichigo, or me for that fact. So, I'll ask again, who are you?"

Toshiro's eyes narrowed and he looked down at the ground. Karin noticed his shoulders shaking slightly as she heard him softly laughing. He threw his head back as he laughed loudly, sounding like a madman. She could only watch wordlessly when his head snapped forward and the laughing suddenly stopped as his lips curved into a devilish smirk. "Oops. I guess insulting the big brother was a no no. I should have know better."

Karin's grip on her sword tightened. "Who are you?"

Toshiro laughed again. "That same old question again?" He sighed. "If you must know, my name is Miraringu. It is quite the pleasure to meet you, dear Karin." He bowed to her and looked back up wearing the same smirk. "Perhaps instead of talking to you, I should have just killed you on the spot. Your soul would have tasted much sweeter being filled with the betrayal of having your life taken by the one you love." He laughed again. "Oh well. The feeling of abandonment your heart currently holds will be sweet enough for my zanpakuto."

Karin pulled Taiyoko from its sheath. "I don't know what you're babbling about, and to be honest I don't really care, but you are a fool if you think for one second that there is anyway that someone like you could kill me."

Miraringu threw his head back once again and laughed. "Such harsh words from such a pretty little girl. You should watch what you say. Big talk like that could get you into trouble. You should try and be more like your sister Yuzu. Such a sweet and gentle soul."

Karin's anger grew the more this creep spoke. "How the hell do you know so much about me and my family?"

Miraringu shook his head. "Such vile language. Did you not hear a word I said, dear Karin?"

Her reaitsu flared wildly around her. "Answer my question!"

He held his hands up. "Now now, there's no reason to get so upset, darling. The answer is very simple." He reached behind him and gripped the handle of Hyorinmaru, and slowly slid it from its sheath. As he did, a bright white light shone from the blade of the sword and consumed his entire body.

The light was so overpowering that Karin had to turn her head, and when she looked back at Miraringu, he no longer stood before her in the form of Toshiro. He now had long blond hair that reached down to his knees and he had grown much taller. The black uniform he had worn was now solid white with a simple jacket covering his torso. The blade of his sword was unlike anything Karin had ever seen. It was twice the width of hers and instead of having a silver color to it, it looked as if was made of

mirrored glass. She looked closer at the blade and her eyes grew wide as she saw that a refection of herself seemed to be trapped beneath the surface of it.

"Beautiful, isn't she?" He wore a prideful smile as he looked at his zanpakuto. "Her name is Hansha tamashi."

Karin tore her gaze from the blade of his sword and looked at him. "I don't care what the name of that thing is. I want you to answer my question."

He stared back at her and smiled, "But my dear, her name is the answer to your question. Hansha tamashi simply means reflective soul. Once her blade catches a glimpse of you, she can peer into your soul, and that means into your past as well. I know everything that has ever happened in your life. From the biggest moments all the way down to the smallest detail. I now know everything about you, darling. There's no hiding from me."

Karin narrowed her eyes as she glared at the man standing before her. _Now what Tai?_

_"I'm not sure. If what he's saying is true, then he knows everything about the way we fight as well. It's gonna be a tough one to win."_

_Well, there's only one way to find out, right?_

Without any hesitation, Karin immediately charged at Miraringu, swinging her sword down at him. He raised his sword to block her attack and pushed her back with hardly any effort at all. "Now. That wasn't very nice, dear. Such a brazen attitude. Perhaps I should teach you how a young lady should act!" He shunpoed to Karin, catching her off guard and not giving her time to block, and hit her with the butt of his sword, throwing her through the air, and crashing into the ground.

Miraringu landed softly on the ground in front of her. "I don't think your mother would approve of your fighting like this if she were still alive, Karin."

Karin instantly swung Taiyoko at him as she stood to her feet. "You have no right to talk about my mother, you bastard!" Her reaitsu flaring wildly again.

He narrowly missed being hit by her blade as he jumped back several feet and sighed, "I'm beginning to think that you completely lack the ability to act like a lady."

Karin smirked slightly, "Damn right. I'm too much like my brother to act any differently. And I'm about to take another page out of his book and kick your ass." She held her sword out in front of her and her reaitsu whipped around them furiously. "Blaze over the darkened sky, Taiyoko!"

* * *

_[Taiyoko- Solar light]_

_[Miraringu- Mirroring]_

_[Hansha tamashi- Reflective soul]_

**A/N Please leave me a review and let me know what you think. I will be posting chapter three in a day or so. It won't take two years for the next chapter, I promise! (:**

**HikariKarin**


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